Azazil

The name resembles Azazel, a fallen angel in the Apocalypse of Abraham, and might be its etymological origin.{{cite book |last1=Orlov |first1=Andrei A. |title=Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology |date=2011 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-1-4384-3953-2 |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5pbK3uXL5cC&pg=PA49 }} Feinberg argues that the name relates to Arabic ‘azala (to remove) and is given to this angel because he "removes or separates" by Muslim authors.DUGGAN, Terrance Michael Patrick. "Veil of Light." Akdeniz İnsani Bilimler Dergisi 4.1 (2014): 129-157.

Some Islamic philologists construct his name from the words aziz and il (God's dear), meaning that his name derived from the meaning that he was once God's favorite angel.{{cite journal |last1=Lari |first1=Maryam |title=THE IMAGES OF ANGELS IN IRANIAN ART A Civilization Interaction in a Comparative Study |journal=International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies |date=1 June 2011 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=247–257 |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijsshs/issue/26221/276163 }}

According to many Arabic scholars, ʿAzāzīl was the personal name of Satan (Iblis). Ibn ManzurZenEldeen, Zakaria Sobhi. "Dangers and Treatment of Hypocrites' Rumors Thematic Analytical Study." مجلة الجامعة الإسلامية للدراسات الإسلامية (عقيدة-تفسير-حديث) 29.1 (2021). (June–July 1233 – December 1311/January 1312) writes in his dictionary of the Arabic language:

{{blockquote|"The word "إبليس" [(Iblis)] is from the root "بلس" [({{sc|bls}})]. The root may mean: to be silent. "أبلس من رحمة الله" means to be in despair of

Allah's mercy, hence, the name إبليس (Iblis). His original name was Azazil. Allah has said in Surah Al-Rum "وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ يُبْلِسُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ" (On the Day that the Hour will be established, the guilty will be struck dumb with despair). The name "Iblis" is derived from the root, بلس , as he is in despair of Allah's mercy" -Ibn Mandhur, Lisan Al-Arab, Vol.6/29}}

Sunni exegetical tradition can be divided into two camps in regards on the identity of Satan. This dispute roots back to the formative stage of Islam. When Surah al-Kahf states, in reference to Satan, "(...) he was one of the jinni (...)", the strand of Hasan al-Basri and ibn Abbas differ in meaning. According to al-Basri, angels are infallible.Omar Hamdan Studien Zur Kanonisierung des Korantextes: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrīs Beiträge Zur Geschichte des Korans Otto Harrassowitz Verlag 2006 {{ISBN|978-3-447-05349-5}} page 293 {{in lang |de}} Thus, he argues, Satan could not have been an angel.Omar Hamdan Studien Zur Kanonisierung des Korantextes: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrīs Beiträge Zur Geschichte des Korans Otto Harrassowitz Verlag 2006 {{ISBN|978-3-447-05349-5}} page 293 {{in lang |de}} Instead, the verse is supposed to mean that Satan is one of the djinn, distinct from the angels.

According to ibn Abbas, the term is interpreted as jinān, meaning that Satan was "an inhabitant of paradise" (i.e. an angel).Patrick Hughes| Dictionary of Islam Asian Educational Services|page= 135 At that time, he was appointed by God as the ruler of the lower heavens and sent to judge the djinn, until they became corrupt and was commanded to eliminate them.Jeffery, Arthur. “Ibn Al-’Arabī’s Shajarat Al-Kawn (Concluded).” Studia Islamica, no. 11, 1959, pp. 113–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1595153. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism Scarecrow Press 2010 {{ISBN|978-1-461-71895-6}} page 295 Ibn Abbas further explains that Satan's angelic name was ʿAzāzīl. However, after ʿAzāzīl was banished from heaven, his name is changed to Iblīs and is turned into a "cursed demon" (shayṭān rajim).

He is further blamed to claim divine authority for himself by calling for obedience among God's creation. Surah al-’Anbiyā (26-29) is understood as a reference to Satan:

"And they say, "The Most Merciful has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, they are [but] honored servants. They cannot precede Him in word, and they act by His command. He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they cannot intercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. And they, from fear of Him, are apprehensive. And whoever of them should say, "Indeed, I am a god besides Him" - that one We would recompense with Hell. Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers."{{cite web | url=https://quran.com/21?startingVerse=29 | title=Surah Al-Anbya - 1-112 }}

Unlike the tradition of al-Basri, ibn Abbas' interpretation accepts that angels can sin and be expelled from heaven. This interpretation is favored in Sunni tradition by scholars such as Tabari, Suyuti, and Nasafi.

Al-Hallaj (c. 858 – 922) mentions ʿAzāzīl in his Kitāb al-Tawāsīn. Here, ʿAzāzīl's disobedience to refuse God's command is described as way to hallow God's name. According to him, ʿAzāzīl proved loyalty to God by declining to bow before Adam. Chapter Six is dedicated to the self-defence of ʿAzāzīl, and in one section Hallaj explains how each of the letters of ʿAzāzīl's name relate to his personality. Unlike many other Sufi writers, Hallaj rejected that ʿAzāzīl could be restored to God's grace, insisting on Satan's damnation.Reynold A. Nicholson Studies in Islamic Mysticism CUP Archive 1978 {{ISBN|978-0-521-29546-8}} page 120-121 He argues that, since ʿAzāzīl originated from fire, fire must be his final destiny.I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass.

ʿAzāzīl is also mentioned three times in Rumi's Masnavi, as a reminder for the Muslim to exercise discipline and humility, since when ʿAzāzīl acted arrogantly, he was abandoned to hell in spite of his former high position:

Through discipline and humility this heaven has been filled with light, and through discipline the angel became immaculate and holy. By reason of irreverence, the sun was eclipsed, and insolence caused Azazil to be turned back from the door.{{cite journal |last1=Moradi |first1=S. Robert |title=Love, Pathos, and the Inner Healer: Examples from Analytical Work Using Mythology and Rumi's Poetry |journal=Psychological Perspectives |date=26 February 2010 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=5–20 |doi=10.1080/00332920903543526 |s2cid=170958216 }}

Al-Jili describes angels (malāʾikah) and devils (shayāṭīn) as manifestations of God's attributes. While the good angels are made from light in order to guide humanity, ʿAzāzīl and his angels are created as reflecting God's names of majesty, darkness and misleading.Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90 As an angel of single-minded devotion, ʿAzāzīl fails to realize that bowing before Adam in accordance with God's command is equal as bowing to God himself.Reynold A. Nicholson Studies in Islamic Mysticism CUP Archive 1978 {{ISBN|978-0-521-29546-8}} page 120-121Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 182 {{ISBN|978-9004069060}} ʿAzāzīl and his angels were reduced to the principle of evil, when they rejected repentance and justified their persistence by their creation from fire.Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90

Inayat Khan (1882 – 1927), a pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West, similarly teaches that ʿAzāzīl is a devil leading astray from the way of God. He states that evil actions performed by people attract the spirit of ʿAzāzīl (or his minions) who in turn leads them further astray into darkness and wrong actions.I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 104 ʿAzāzīl is the worst tempters, since the fallen angel has the power to lead even saints astray, however, still fails against the prophets.Bayman, H. (2012). The Teachings of a Perfect Master: An Islamic Saint for the Third Millennium. Vereinigtes Königreich: Anqa Pub.. p. 238

Similar to the Sunni tradition, Shia exegesis on the events mentioned in Surah 2:30-34 revolves around Adam's role as a "successor" (ḫalīfa). Both conjecture that Adam is a successor to the djinn, whose rulings over the earth was put to an end by the angels on God's behalf. The angels drew a parallel between Adam and the impious djinn when questioning God's decision to create humanity.Vilozny, R. (2018). Between Myth-Making and Shiite Exegesis: Nasnās and Qurʾān 2: 30. Intellectual History of the Islamicate World, 6(3), 298. Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi attributes this account through a lineage of previous Imams until it reaches Ali.Vilozny, R. (2018). Between Myth-Making and Shiite Exegesis: Nasnās and Qurʾān 2: 30. Intellectual History of the Islamicate World, 6(3), 298.

In the treatise Itbad al wasiyya, not an exegetical work but legitimation of the Twelve Imams,Vilozny, R. (2018). Between Myth-Making and Shiite Exegesis: Nasnās and Qurʾān 2: 30. Intellectual History of the Islamicate World, 6(3), 291. God created the djinn and nasnas on earth. When the djinn and nasnas caused corruption and bloodshed, God sends down an army of angels. The leader of the angels was ʿAzāzīl. ʿAzāzīl and his angels deported the djinn and nasnas to the edge of the world. whereas ʿAzāzīl and his companions settled on the central part of the earth. ʿAzāzīl became the ruler of the earth and pretended to be of angelic quality outwardly but disobeyed God inwardly. ʿAzāzīl ruled for 7000 years until God ordered the angels of heaven to look at earth again. The angels were appalled by the destruction occurring on earth. After that, God announces to create a successor to the angels.Vilozny, R. (2018). Between Myth-Making and Shiite Exegesis: Nasnās and Qurʾān 2: 30. Intellectual History of the Islamicate World, 6(3), 292.

In Umm al-Kitab, an 8th-century Ismaili work, ʿAzāzīl is the first creation of God, the High King. God gave him the power of creation, but ʿAzāzīl boasted with his loaned power, claiming divinity for himself, describing himself as another God beside the High King. To prove that ʿAzāzīl's creation only depends on the power of his own creator, God makes a new creation, opposed by ʿAzāzīl. Every time, ʿAzāzīl again claims to be like God, he and his fellow angels lose colour, becoming darker and inferior and are thrown into lower celestial spheres until they end up on earth, which is made out of the essence of ʿAzāzīl's creations.Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition Shambhala Publications 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-834-82414-0}} page 707Christoph Auffarth, Loren T. Stuckenbruck The Fall of the Angels BRILL 2004 {{ISBN|978-9-004-12668-8}} page 161

Iblīs enters the scene only later, as a result of the sins of the former heavenly creatures. For that reason, Iblīs does not know the world of light and is utterly evil. For this reason, evil is always associated with ignorance.Yaron, Friedman. "The Nusayrī-‘Alawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria." (2010). p. 99-100

In the tenth-century work Kitāb al-Šaǧara devils (abālisa) and demons (shayāṭīn) are described as forces who obstruct people from learning esoteric knowledge (ʿilm al-bāṭin) of the Quran.The Demon in Potentiality and the Devil in

Actuality: Two Principles of Evil according to

4th/10th Century Ismailism p. 614-615 Each prophet has to face a unique incarnation of the devilish principle.The Demon in Potentiality and the Devil in

Actuality: Two Principles of Evil according to

4th/10th Century Ismailism p. 614-615 ʿAzāzīl is the first devil (iblīs) and his disciple (šayṭān) is the Quranic Cain.The Demon in Potentiality and the Devil in

Actuality: Two Principles of Evil according to

4th/10th Century Ismailism p. 616

Bektashi Alevism, despite its heterodox, believes in angels similar to Sunnis.Topuz, Birol. "Three Concepts That Are Confused With Each Other In Academia: Alevism, Bektashism, and Shiism." Journal of Alevism-Bektashism Studies 27 (2023): 65 As in the Quranic tradition, angels are ordered to prostrate themselves, but Azazil refuses.DOĞAN, Eşref, and Hasan ÇELİK. "HÛ ERENLER! HÂYYʼDAN GELDİK HÛʼYA GİDERİZ: ALEVÎ-BEKTÂŞÎ DEYİMLERİNİN TÜRK EDEBİYATINA YANSIMALARI." p. 185 In the Alevi interpretation, however, the prostration was to Ali.DOĞAN, Eşref, and Hasan ÇELİK. "HÛ ERENLER! HÂYYʼDAN GELDİK HÛʼYA GİDERİZ: ALEVÎ-BEKTÂŞÎ DEYİMLERİNİN TÜRK EDEBİYATINA YANSIMALARI." p. 185

In a creation story, the archangels are ordered to bow before a mystical light. After Azazil served God for 1001 days, he refused to bow down, claiming independency of his creator out of pride.Çelik, H. (2014). Alevilik ve Bektaşilikte gönül eğitimi. Hünkâr Alevilik Bektaşilik Akademik Araştırmalar Dergisi, 1(1), 83-100. Whereupon, he is, unlike the other archangels, not allowed to enter the light and remains in the world of the "Evil Self".Handan Aksünger Jenseits des Schweigegebots: Alevitische Migrantenselbstorganisationen und zivilgesellschaftliche Integration in Deutschland und den Niederlanden Waxmann Verlag 2013 {{ISBN|978-3-830-97883-1}} page 83-84 (German)

Çelik, H. (2014). Alevilik ve Bektaşilikte gönül eğitimi. Hünkâr Alevilik Bektaşilik Akademik Araştırmalar Dergisi, 1(1), 83-100. This event later manifests in the enmity between the Devil and humanity.Handan Aksünger Jenseits des Schweigegebots: Alevitische Migrantenselbstorganisationen und zivilgesellschaftliche Integration in Deutschland und den Niederlanden Waxmann Verlag 2013 {{ISBN|978-3-830-97883-1}} page 83-84 (German)

• Angels in Islam
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